If I do say so, I think you were being overly cautious to the point of being excessive. I'm not piling on here, just saying that from my experience as long as you had enough supporting documentation to show you were the legal owner of the car, no out of state cop is going to make a big deal out of it - it's too much hassle for them, unless you're acting suspicious or doing something you shouldn't be.
Case in point - when I got pulled over in the 280S, I had a Florida tag that was propped up in the back window with a rolled up sweatshirt. It had fallen down but was still visible from the outside of the car. Unbeknownst to me, I was traveling on a two lane state highway from Norfolk to I-95 that was a corridor for drug traffickers, many of which were from - you guessed it - Florida. When I got pulled over I turned into a McDonald's parking lot, knowing that if there was going to be a scene, it wouldn't take place in a crowded public place. The two officers came out with guns drawn and asked me to exit the car with ID and registration. I did so, but refused to allow them to search the car or open the trunk, mainly because I knew they had no probable cause (this was a typical "Terry" stop.) They were not nice and gave me a bit of a hard time. I was respectful but firm, even though they tried the walk away and "Oh by the way" tactic to get me to say something to give them probable cause. This is where you're free to go but are asked some apparently innocuous questions, which are no longer a part of the traffic stop, as you're supposedly doing this willingly. At that point they can come back and attempt to claim you gave consent. "You don't have any drugs in that car, do ya?" I ignored them, which pissed them off even more, but I suspect also made them realize I wasn't going to be cooperative. At that point they left me alone. I went in the McDonald's and got a cold beverage, during which the locals who had watched the confrontation stared at me until I left... I drove back to Florida without incident. Interestingly, it seemed strange that they would stop a Florida car that was heading out of town, rather than in... Dan On Apr 6, 2012, at 10:20 PM, Mitch Haley wrote: > Rick Knoble wrote: > >> In retrospect, that is probably what I should've done. However, fictitious >> plates will get the car impounded "if" you get pulled over. Then the >> problems increase exponentially. > > The 4matic wagon came home with a plate that expired last December, which was > registered to a 2.3-16v until it expired. I assumed that > > 1. out of state cops wouldn't know the current Michigan plates have a green, > not orange, sticker. > > 2. If I did get pulled over, an expired plate wouldn't be considered criminal > misuse of a plate. > > 2a. A few years ago, a bored cop rolled up behind me at a stop sign, punched > my plate into his computer, and decided that my Taurus was the funniest > looking Mercedes he'd ever seen. He was a polite enough fellow, even allowed > me to drive it home instead of making me tow it, but he actually wrote it up > as a misdemeanor criminal citation. The prosecuting attorney dropped it to a > civil infraction, and I paid about $100. > > Mitch. > > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
